Perfect World, Broken Homes
by Varmint
Summary: Six different Homes. Eight different children dragged into the corruption of their government, thrust into a world they never even knew could exist inside their perfect society. Having to learn how to work together after their world comes tumbling down because of just one small mistake. Will they ever go back to normality? Will they even survive in this new world? AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Shouldn't be starting a new story, but the idea was bugging me. This will be a dystopian AU, which means that it will not be a very happy story.**

**Please enjoy~**

"What's up, Conner?" I asked as I walked into the train that united the Speed Force with the Kryptos.

He was sitting on the far back, away from the meat heads he called friends and teammates. Conner was a big kid, with wide shoulders and a muscular body, but it was not exaggeratedly muscular, like his friends. He had short black hair with a red streak right through the middle, and he wore the standard red and blue uniform for all Kryptos that would be leaving their Home.

"Not much, West." He answered, his voice smooth and strong.

He had been looking out of the window and to the barren landscape that was once something called North America, but now he was looking directly at me, letting me see his bright blue eyes. That must be the biggest difference between him and the rest of the muscle headed Kryptos. His blue eyes showed his direct descendancy from the -El family of Kryptos, meaning he was the son of Kal-El, also known as Clark Kent to the rest of the Home Leaders.

I smirked down at him and plopped down next to him, taking the seat closest to the large windows. They were large and blacked out, not letting the normal people like myself see outside. But, lo and behold, Kon-El; like he's known in his Home; was able to see clearly.

"What do you think are going to happen these games?" He asked me, shifting in his chair so he was looking at me and not at his teammates. Who were now wrestling and causing a riot.

I shrugged, shaking my head at a friend of mine that asked if he could come back here. "The usual. Magik and Intelligentia are going to cause a scene like always, Imperatoriis and Arrows... well... half of them will be fighting and the other half will be making out... and our Homes will be okay with each other because we're so awesome."

Conner nodded, then smirked as he saw my other best friend, who was waving wildly at me. "He _does_ know who I am, right?"

I smiled and chuckled lightly, and answered with, "He's James, he doesn't care who you are as long as you don't steal his candies."

Conner chuckled at my answer, but I knew what he was thinking. Me and him, we're the tightest people from different Homes to have lasted as long as we have. I mean, Kryptos and Speeds are the most likely friends, but that's because we live so close together. But, it's nothing new for friendships to be broken because of the rivalries that were spread all throughout our wonderful country. Bruce Wayne and Kal-El were the perfect role models for this rule.

I'm not quite sure about this, because it happened so long ago, but it was said that the best Ninja from the Imperatoriis was the best friend of the son of the leader of the Kryptos, Kal-El. Well, after a few years of their friendship, it is said that they fell in love with the same girl, a teenager from the Magiks. And much like anything else in this hell-hole we call our reality, the rivalry between the Kryptos and the Imperatoriis became even more heated.

"What you thinking about, Walls?" Conner asked me, leaning in towards me.

I turned to him, smiling my characteristic lop-sided smile. "Just thinking about how different our friendship is."

He cocked an eyebrow at me, urging me to continue with my train of thought. "I mean, just think about Lord Wayne and Lord Kal-"

"Wally, you know my father, he allows you to drop the Lord Kal and just call him Clark." He interrupted me, making me chuckle nervously.

"I know that, it's just that after getting whippings for calling him that, it finally stuck." I said, making him scowl, but I quickly continued with my thoughts. "Anyways, their friendship broke up because of a chick, and most of the friendships adults from different Home's had were destroyed right around this age. I just wonder how we've lasted so much, Conny."

He chuckled at me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling my closer to deliver a noogie. "You're an idiot, Wally. We've lasted as friends so long because we don't care as much about our futures as the rest of us do."

That made me frown, which made him laugh out loudly. Most of the people on the train looked back at us, not used to hearing Conner being so loud. I mean, he's one of the Lord's kid, shouldn't he be quiet and well mannered all the time? Apparently not.

"Geez, thanks for making me sound like such a Muti."

He rolled his eyes, then said, "Come on, Walls. We don't care about those exclusive chairs in the Gov. We don't care about that shiny spot in the record books that's awarded to the best of the best. We, you and me, Walls, only care about making it through another day without pissing off one of my dad's or our Leader's friends."

I smiled at this, nodding in agreement.

"You know, I still don't understand how your father allows you to be my friend." I told him, making him shake his head and look away, because we've had this conversation before.

While he was the son of one of the most important Leaders in our society, I was the nephew of a Leader, and the son of a philosophical leader. Uncle Barry was not very influential in the Republic, but that's because he's the goof of the Leaders. My father, much like any other normal Speedster, was not very respected in the government, because we're too liberal. We believe in looking for answers for all of our questions, no matter what, and that's most probably why my Home has the most executions.

"You're the nephew of Barry Allen, the man that saved my father from total annihilation out in the Border, I think that's your answer, Wally."

I roll my eyes and cross my arms as I lean into my seat, trying to get comfortable in the stiff furniture. Before I could retort and tell him about the long track record my father has, one of the servers passed right next to us, offering us food. I took the plate he offered, smiling widely, which made him blush some.

After he was gone, Conner elbowed me in the side, and said, "Don't try to charm him into giving you another brownie."

I give him a mock-surprise look, and ask, "Who? Me? Why, I would never try to get another brownie for dessert!"

He chuckles as he moves his pasta around, wanting to cool it some before he eats it... Which I still don't understand because Krypo's barely feel anything. "Whatever, Walls. You can't tell me that you've never tried to use your status in the Games to get something extra."

I chuckled at this, but didn't answer, just because he already knew the answer to that. No matter what, I would never use my position to get anything that I shouldn't have.

"How much longer before we arrive at the Ninja's home?" I ask after I had eaten my own pasta, unwrapping my brownie.

He shrugged, still halfway through his plate. "Could be an hour, a half hour, heck, maybe even fifteen minutes. You know that we're not allowed any watches." He told me.

I frowned at this, but still nodded, taking a bite from the brownie. "I find that kind of unfair, how the Magiks get to wear watches."

He shrugged once more, and said, "Well, they _are_ the liberalists of the republic." He was shaking his head as he said this, making me smile.

"What? Do you not like them 'cause your little _girlfriend_ doesn't?" I asked, poking a jab at a friend he had met at last years Games.

Her name's M'gann, and much like me, she is the niece of her Home's Leader, J'onn J'onnz. But, unlike me, she was adopted by him after her birth parents died, leaving her to be a spoiled little girl. I didn't like her much, but I put up with her because Conner really did like her.

"Shut up, West." He growled, pointing his fork at me. "She's not my girlfriend."

I laughed at this, and shaking my head, I looked outside, straining my vision to try to see what was outside the windows. I was told that there was nothing but death and destruction, but I find it hard to believe, seeing as the Mutants survive out there without any of the technology we have.

_"To all passengers, we are arriving in the Imperatoriis Home. Please be ready for stationing and to leave in less than a minute, we still have to go back to pick up supplies for you."_ The voice of the driver of the Train announced, making me and Conner smile.

"Ready for the Games, Conner?" I smirked, making him smirk too.

"Ready for anything."

**Yeah, the start of my story. Two reviews and I'll update tomorrow.**


	2. Chapter 2

After my teammates had been situated in the top floor of the Center, and we had gotten some more food for snacks, me and Conner met up for a little so we could walk into the Meeting together. We always did this, making the other competitors from the Homes that weren't Krypto or Speed Force feel threatened.

As we walked into the main conference room, I couldn't help but look around. It wasn't because I was curious, because I've been here most of life, but because I didn't want to look at everybody else in the room. The Meeting was held in the Hall, which was a large glass building that was made for the intention of keeping us inside and everyone else outside. The windows were able to black out to project whatever one of the Leaders wanted, which made this the number one place I don't want to be in. Too many questions come to mind.

The tables inside the Main Room of the Hall were long, taking up most of the space of the giant hall we were in, and in each table fit a whole Home.

Speed and Krypto were seated close to one another for obvious reasons, while Magik sat on the left of Speed, and Intelligentia on Kryptos right. Arrows would be seated on the left of Magiks, because those were the only people that got along with the Magiks, and Imperatoriis would be seated in the table in the front of all of us, giving them the sense of being more important than the rest.

Already Magik and Intelligentia were there, some Arrows were seated while others spoke with the Magiks, but the Imperatorii's were nowhere to be found. Conner and I sat down in the same table, this time being the Kryptos, because last year we sat in my table.

"Conner, why does he always sit with you?" Conner's cousin, Kara, asked as she eyed us, making me smile. "I mean, I get your friends, but you're on the verge of getting whipped because of not following the instructions.

Conner nodded, his face stoic and calm as always, and answered, "Kara, as long as we keep winning and making our Homes proud, none of the Lords would whip us."

She nodded, but still frowned. "Yeah, but the Lords aren't the only ones allowed to hurt you, Con. There are the Sergeants, the Senators, the Officials, heck, some philosophers could hurt you!"

Both Conner and myself rolled our eyes at this, just because we knew that Kara was just trying to look for a way to make me leave their table. She had a natural feeling for hating Speedsters, and I don't blame her, seeing that if I was dumped by the love of my life just a few days before we got married, I would also be a bit resentful.

"Kara, if you hate me so much, I can just take my ass and your cousin's to my table, and you won't have to see me again until we're chosen." I smirked at the glare she sent my way, but she quickly huffed and turned away, deciding that it was better to have us both here instead of not having us at all.

As me and Conner fell into a pleasant conversation with a boy named Titan, who was somewhat tan, bald, and huge when it came to muscles, the Trumpets started. Quickly everyone in the Hall hushed up and got up, standing to look at the table that was in front of all of us, waiting for the Imperatorii's to show up.

One by one the dark clothed boys and girls showed up, some of them wearing sunglasses, others wearing masks that hid half their faces, and a few with smirks clear in their faces. They all wore black jackets with gray designs, black combat pants and boots, but they all wore different color shirts. Some were yellow, others were red, and a few were green or blue.

The last two to enter were a girl and boy, siblings if my memory didn't fail me, and the boy really got on my nerves. Richard Wayne, ward of the 'Great' Lord Wayne, and my number one competitor. It's not that I didn't like him, it's just that he didn't like me. Apparently red heads really got on his nerves, and the first day he met me he decided I would be his enemy.

His sister, Barbara, though, was nice for Ninja standards, and she didn't mind me much.

"There's your number one enemy." Conner whispered from behind me, making me sneer slightly.

"He's such a hypocrite. His sister's ginger! Why does he hate me?" I whispered back, but quickly quieted down as Lord Wayne stepped into the room, his long robe giving him an eviler effect.

While normal Ninjas wore jackets and pants, the Leader and Government officials wore long robes with high necks and elaborate jewelry, showing that they were at the top of the food chain. Lord Wayne was a dark man, with short black hair and a youthful face, but his most striking features, much like Conner and Clark, were his eyes. Almost as blue as the pure Kryptos.

He stood at a large podium at the very front, farther up from the Ninjas table, and higher so everyone could see him. His eyes looked all around the crowd, falling on my own for a second, and I swear that for that second the temperature of the whole room dropped, leaving me shivering. He never did like me.

"Competitors." His voice was strong and firm, commanding respect from everyone in the Meeting. No one dared speak when he was giving his speeches, he was the only Leader that could make you believe you would die if he gave you a glare. "We all know why we are here. Most of you have been coming to these Games since you were ten years old, and now most of those are already reaching their age."

I sighed, my hand twitching at my hip, wanting to do something. We heard this speech every year, and it never got better or less boring. I mean, at the beginning I was awed with how awesome Lord Wayne was, but I quickly figured out that it was just a hero worshiping thing. Now I can't wait to even sit down again, because I could at least bounce my leg up and down if I were seated.

"The age in which you choose what you want, when you decide your wife or husband, when you decided where you will live and what you will for a job, and more importantly, the age in which you pledge your allegiance to the Republic." For some odd reason, I knew he was looking directly at me and Con when he said this, but he quickly looked away and towards the Arrows, who were most probably smirking and getting ready to do something unruly. "But, for now you do not have worry about such a thing. Now, all you have to worry about is making your Home happy."

There were cheers from the Magiks, then the Arrows and Imperatorii joined in, and last were the Kryptos and Speeds. I only raised my fist with my pinky, forefinger and thumb up, a symbol in my Home for Truth. Intelligentia didn't join in with the cheers, which was not surprising at all, seeing how they're all stiff pricks that'll do anything to make sure they look more serious than the rest of us.

"Now, may the Leaders of the rest of the Homes step in so we can start the Games?" He asked, looking to the door where he and the Imperatorii's had come through.

Sure enough the rest of the Leaders started to walk inside, starting with Lady Diana, the Leader of the Magiks, wearing the regal robes of her homeland, which were in the royal colors of purple, black, and some hints of red. Then came in the Leader of the Intelligentia, Lord J'onn, wearing the long green robes with strange black writing all over it. Then came in Lord Clark, wearing the royal robes in red and blue with the Kryptonian symbol in the chest, and then came in my uncle, wearing his robe in yellow and red, the colors that marked the Speeds.

There were some whispers as one Leader failed to appear, Lord Ollie, but it did not surprise me at all. He was never one for time.

Lord Wayne continued looking at the door, his face bored because he had already expected this. Then Lord Ollie walked in, not wearing a robe, but instead his hunting gear, which was all green, with his bow and quiver, a hood over his head and a smile on his face. He kept quiet as he stood next to my uncle, both of them most probably fist bumping underneath the large table.

Lord Wayne cleared his throat after he finished glaring at Lord Ollie, then turned back to us, still dead serious. "The Host of these years Game will be none other than Lord Queen," He spoke, sounding a bit hurt at this, while Lord Ollie only smiled cheekily. "So I will leave you with him."

He stepped back from the podium and allowed the blonde archer to step up, smile seeming to have doubled in size. "Well, first of all," He said, then raised his arm, his two middle fingers clear in the air while the two from the side were held by the thumb. A greeting of love to the Arrows and everyone in the Republic. Everybody else returned this gesture, making him smile, and loosen up even more. "As you know, I'm Lord Ollie, _not_ Lord Queen, and I've decided that this year we do something different with the Games."

Now this got my attention, because no one ever messed with the Games. Not even the old Lord Luthor, but... then again, that was because he wanted to change the Games so we had to kill each other... But still, no one was allowed to mess with tradition.

"Because we always do the same thing, the Magiks room with the Magiks, the Speeds with the Speeds, you know how it goes, I thought we could mix things up."

There was a dead silence at his words, but he just continued smiling and speaking. "So, I thought, each quarter will get eight inhabitants from a different Home because we trust you so much. Also, it can be boy and girls together in the room, because you've all been treated."

Silence. Silence. Wait for it... "Lord Queen, have you lost it?!" Lady Diana exclaimed, looking at him in utter shock.

He smirked back at her, winked, and said, "Maybe, maybe not. But I am tired of these kids hating on each other for things that happened hundreds of years ago. Eight children from different Homes will be staying in the same Quarter, and they will not kill each other if they do not want to get punished." Then he turned back to us, still smiling. "Your roommates will be posted in the board behind me at the end of dinner, so please pass by and find who you will be rooming with."

I was surprised at this, but smirked, crossed my arms, and leaned back a little into Conner. So what, sue me. He's comfortable. This would be some Games, especially if they leave some Intelligentia with a Magik.

"This'll make for some interesting Games." He whispered, making my smirk widen.

"You got no idea, Con... No idea."

**Two reviews and I'll update tomorrow. Imperatoriis means Strategy in Latin.**


	3. Chapter 3

"You think this is going to be a good night?" Conner asked me in a shy tone, keeping his voice down so our guide didn't hear him.

After the initial shock from Ollie's words had died down, many kids had protested, only for Lord J'onn to shut us all up and tell us that we'll be rooming with different people, and that was all. After that, we had eaten dinner, and had found out who we would be rooming with.

Luckily, I was going to be with Conner, but that's where the luck ran out. Because girls were allowed to room with the guys now, it meant that I would also be rooming with two bothersome Magiks, Raquel and Zatanna, two annoying Arrows, Artemis and Roy, and the one person that hates me more than the sun shines, the Imperatorii, Richard. We were missing one roommate, but he or she would arrive later.

"Not really." I whispered as I waved good night at James, who was looking into his room with fright.

It's not that he didn't like Kara, it's just that Kara didn't like him. And add one Arrow, two more Kryptos, another Speed, a Magik, an Imperatorii, and an Intelligentia, and my poor friend was screwed.

"Help. Me." He whispered right before the door slid shut, making me shake my head.

"The poor guy's not gonna make it." Conner whispered, looking forward as our guide took us to our room.

Now it was only me and Conner left with the woman, seeing how she had dropped everyone else off. She was a Magik from her robes, her long hair was multi-colored and she had most of her ears pierced, but aside from that, she seemed like a very mellow person.

"And here is your room." Her voice was strong and soft, and she stepped to the side to show us where we would be rooming.

In the master room. Go figure. As me and Conner went inside, she called after us, "We have been told that you will be receiving one more roommate, which would make your room have nine people inside. Please, do not kill each other."

And with those words the door slid behind us, leaving me with a small sense of dread. The room was a big one, with eight beds shoved against the four walls, and a ninth bed in the middle, which I guess was for our last mate. Already we had four people inside, and they had already chosen the left side for themselves.

"Well, looky looky at this cookie." The annoying teenager named Artemis said as she finally spotted both of us, strutting towards what she presumed dead meat.

I smiled cheekily at her, hoisted my bag higher on the shoulder, and told her, "Well, looky looky at that Muti."

Her smile turned into a sneer at my words, making me smile. We've never gotten along, and that's all her fault. Back in our first year in the Games, she took one look at me in the Dining Hall, threw her drink at me, and told me to never look at her. Yeah, she is a _very_ special person.

"Who're you calling a Muti? Seems to me that you're the only one here ugly enough to be one." She answered, making me roll my eyes.

I walked towards the beds on the right, then put my bag on the one farthest from her. "You know Arty, I would be offended by that, but I really can't because it's such an elementary insult. Even my baby cousin can insult better than that, and he's only a few months old!"

Her face got red at this, almost as red as my hair, but before she could answer, Roy stepped in and offered me his hand, smiling widely. "Nice one, Wallace. I haven't been able to shut her up for a very long time."

I smiled back at him and grasped his hand, actually feeling happy at the fact that Roy wasn't mad at me for insulting his sister. Now, these two; much like Richard and Barbara; are the adopted children of Lord Ollie, leaving them with a very big ego issue. Artemis more than Roy.

"Are you going to be fighting all the time you're in here?" Somebody on the left side of the room interrupted, making me look at the Magiks, Raquel and Zatanna. "Cause if y'all are, I'mma move outta here."

I smiled at her way of speaking, which was customary for the less educated Magiks. But, it would be stupid of myself to believe that Raquel wasn't educated. Heck, she was almost as smart as me when it came to her School. Only difference was that she excelled in the Arts and Literature while I did in Science and things that were believable.

"You know, I never did understand the rivalry between the Speeds and Magiks." Zatanna now spoke up, draping an arm over Raquel's shoulder and leaving her head to rest on the girl's other. "I understand why we hate the Inteligenttia, but why the Speeds? They're all pretty awesome."

Now Zatanna was almost as smart as Raquel, but she excelled more in the mystical parts of her Home. Sorcery, magical potions, dragons, creating things out of thin air, that was her specialty. And her, much like me, was the daughter of a philosopher in her Home. But, she had the much better deal because Philosophers were actually loved in her Home.

"Yeah, they are." Raquel smiled cheekily at me, making Artemis roll her eyes. "Seriously, if it weren't for that one Speed, I wouldn't have gotten my brownie in Dinner."

I chuckled at this, rolled my eyes, and said, "Speeds and Magiks don't get along very well because we're always fighting about what's real and what's fake. Science or Magic?"

As I spoke with the people in the room, Conner had taken the bed in front of mine, taken out all his things and put them all inside the drawers under the bed, and lied down, just watching me speak with everybody.

Zatanna pouted at what I said, and spoke once more. "Well, can't they both be true? I mean, look at Raquel. She breaks the laws of gravity almost every day because of Science _and_ magic."

I shrugged, but before I could say anything else, the door opened once more, and in stepped the person I least wanted, along with Conner's crush and a teenage boy I had never seen before. Richard analyzed the room, and once his eyes fell on me, they narrowed behind his sunglasses. M'gann scrunched her face up in disgust as she saw Raquel and Zatanna being so close together, while the last boy; who seemed to already be of age; walked towards the bed right in front of Conner's.

All was quiet as Richard and M'gann glared at all of us, while the first inhabitants of the room returned their own glare. Conner and I shared a look, and I quickly smiled, making him shake his head.

"Come on, are you going to stand there, or are you going to get the bed you want?" I asked, breaking the silence and making everyone look at me.

Richard's glare deepened even more, making me cross my arms and smirk. "Did you not know that your face could freeze up that way?"

He only scoffed and shook his head at this, then walked towards the bed in front of the weird boy, who had just sat down and started to sharpen a knife... From his jacket and clothing, I could tell that he was also Imperatorii, but it's kind of hard to believe because he didn't show any kind of emotions towards neither myself, the Arrows, or even Richard. I may like him just yet.

M'gann wrinkled her nose at the sight of the only bed left in the room, and Conner; being ever the gentleman; got up and offered her his bed. "M'gann, if you don't want to sleep there, I'd be more than willing to give you my own."

She smiled warmly at him, a real smile, and nodded. "Thank you, Kon-El."

The Inteligenttia liked to call everyone by their real and formal names, so I would not be surprised if she called me Wallace. It was annoying, but you could never make them stop calling you that.

All was quiet as M'gann and Conner changed beds and I just sat back down on my bed, observing everyone else. Richard clearly didn't want to be here, if the way he had lied down was any indication. Facing the wall with his back to the rest of us. Raquel and Zatanna were clearly okay with these arrangements, but that must be because they were together.

Artemis was still hating me because of how I beat her in the insult contest, while Roy's mood seemed to have made a complete 180 when the stranger stepped into the room. Conner was glad to have M'gann here, and M'gann was now okay because she at least got along with two people in the room.

"Hey, Roy." I called, making him look up from the book he was slowly squeezing to death.

"What, Speed?" He asked, voice strained.

Yep, something's wrong. "Let's go for a walk. I want to speak some with my partner in crime."

He quickly accepted and we walked out of the room, leaving behind a very awkward atmosphere. We weren't supposed to be out after lights out, but because Roy is Lord Ollie's kid, we can go to the Hall, get some water, and go back before the Guards get to tell us something. We walked in silence, our footsteps loud against the white floors.

"What's up with you and the new kid?" I finally asked as we neared the giant doors of the Hall, making him falter some.

He seemed to be debating his answer, then he sighed and opened the door. There was no one inside, making it seem more like a haunted place than a gathering place.

"His name's Jason Todd. He's Lord Wayne's nephew, and we have bad history."

I nodded and shoved my hands into my pockets, continuing to walk to the back of the Hall were the fountain was. "How bad?"

He stopped me right then, placing both his hands on my shoulders and making me look up into his blue eyes. "Bad enough that I'm surprise we haven't been executed. Now drop it, Wally. And steer clear of him."

I nodded rapidly at his glare, making him let go of me and get his water. I sighed and rubbed my shoulders, knowing that I would be bruised there. Seriously, where did Arrows get all their strength from?

"Let's go. We have a busy day tomorrow."

And we walked towards the room, only for Roy to stop me right in front of the door. "Steer clear of Jason, Wally. You hear me?"

I nodded once more, rolling my eyes as he walked into the room. Seriously, what's his deal?

Looking back at this, I wish I had heeded his warning.

**Okay, I don't normally hate books, but there is one I cannot stand, and it's Hunger Games. Could be hypocritical of my part, but I just cannot stand that book. This story has nothing to do with that story, so please do not compare.**

**Anyways, three reviews and I'll update tomorrow.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, first of all I am very sorry to not have updated sooner, but life is really hectic right now. I mean, I only updated my St. Patrick's story and erased another one. I am sorry about erasing that one, but once a muse is gone, it's gone for a while, and I don't like failure.**

**Anyways, here's another chapter in the story, and I know you may be confused, but please, bear with me.**

**Enjoy~**

The next day we were all woken up by the sound of the Imperatorii's trumpets, making both Conner and Artemis fall out of their beds. I understand Conner, what with his super-hearing and all, but I couldn't help but laugh at Artemis' red face and glaring eyes.

"Shut up, Fleet Feet!" She growled, getting up as the rest of the room came to life.

Richard, Jason, and M'gann all seemed okay with being awoken so abruptly, but that was no surprise, seeing as they always woke up like this. While M'gann didn't live in the same Home as them, the Intelligentia were woken up in an almost same way.

Roy was silently cursing the trumpets as he dragged himself out of the bed and onto the floor, reaching for the drawers underneath the bed. Raquel and Zatanna were the only ones that didn't seem to want to say something nice or bad about the trumpets as they turned around and got dressed, their backs to me and the rest of the boys.

I chuckled as I turned around and started to get dressed myself, putting on my dark red pants, black shirt, and yellow and red jacket. Dressing with somebody from the other sex is only normal by now, for we're put in situations like this almost every day of our life. And if you even dare look at the other person while they're dressing, there will be serious consecuences.

Also, by now, I do not feel any kind of attraction towards any of the women in the room, seeing how I think them more like sisters than lovers.

"Meal time, kiddies. Let's go."

This must be the first time I actually heard Jason speak, and I was surprised. His voice was wise and gruff, yet it held a boyish ring to it.

After we managed to drag Roy out of the room, we walked towards the Hall, man and Conner joking with Zatanna, Raquel, and Roy, while Artemis, M'gann, Richard, and Jason kept quiet.

"Must you be so loud?" M'gann hissed after an outburst of ours caused by one of Zatanna's funny jokes, which just happened when we entered the Hall.

Everyone's eyes was on us, including the ones of the Leaders, which made me nervous. Lord Wayne was glaring as always, most probably because Richard was frowning at something or another, Lady Diana had a constipated kind of look, which made me believe she had mixed feelings about this, while Lord J'onn was stoic as always, Uncle Barry was giving me thumbs up, Lord Clark smiled lightly, and Lord Ollie smiled a huge one.

"See? These youngsters are getting along!" Lord Ollie announced, addressing all the tables.

Apparently, everyone had gone back to sitting with their respective Homes, making our entrance that more surprising. Dirty looks were sent my way by the Imperatoriis and Intelligentia, while the Arrows seemed to be preoccupied glaring at Jason, and they Kryptos and Speeds were both filled with glares and smiles. I smiled brightly at everyone in the room, making it even more of a scene.

What I am about to do will either prove me to be the bravest soul around, or the stupidest and craziest.

"Lord Ollie, I must say, it was actually refreshing getting to know someone from another Home overnight. I believe that it was a wise decision you took."

All was silent after I said this, but not once did my smile falter. Lord Ollie seemed to be thinking on this, but slowly and gradually his smile became wider, while the rest of the Lords kept stoic faces. Well, except for Uncle Barry, who was also smiling.

"Well, then, I guess this was a good idea. But, we need not discuss about such things, Speedster. Sit down and eat!" He said, making me nod and walk towards the seat I had last night.

Conner followed me, but the rest went to their own respective tables, well, except for Jason, who seemed to have disappeared while I spoke or a bit after. We ate our breakfast in complete silence, the happiness from before gone after my little scene. I frowned at this thought as we were walked down to the gym, where we would start training for the Games.

We were walked down in Homes, but, like always, I walked with the Kryptos, which by now was accepted by everyone because there was no way that I would leave Conner alone or he would leave me.

"Okay, kiddies!" The trainer spoke as he walked up and down the lines formed by all of us, eyeing and sizing all of us up. "These are either your first Games, or you _last_ Games!"

Nobody moved, barely breathed, and I'm pretty sure almost nobody blinked. You see, our trainer wasn't a big man or one you would be afraid of in the beginning. But, after being in these games since I was eleven, much like a lot of people here, we all knew just how dangerous he was. Nobody knew his real name, and if someone did, no one dared speak up. They called him Freeze, and that's all you needed to know. He was tan and bald, and wore blackened out glasses all the time, along with a blue over coat over his black clothing. This was not the typical person from any Home.

"New Kids, line up along that wall!" He pointed at the wall behind him, making me cringe in memory. This would not be pretty for the faint of heart.

All of the newbies slowly but surely moved to that spot, leaving; what I like to call us; the veterans with Freeze glaring down at all of us. "West!" He called, his eyes suddenly zeroing on me.

I stood up straighter, jutted my chin out, and looked him straight in the eyes, just like he taught me. "Take the group you roomed with to the Jungle Training. And stay there and _live_ until I get you out." He growled at me, making me nod rapidly.

I quickly motioned for Conner to follow me, then took Artemis, Richard, Roy, Zatanna, and Raquel with me to the Tables. Now these were long metallic tables that held eight to nine backpacks, which were enough for one group, the same numbers of weapons, rations, water, and; if you got lucky; a small sack. Luckily, in the table designated for the first group, there was exactly that small sack.

I took one backpack, filled it with one gun, a knife, three packets of rations, three water bottles, a flare gun, a small sword, and my weapon of choice, a retractable scythe. As soon as the rest of my team had their things, we walked towards the first large door to the other side of the large white room which was the Gym, which was labeled 'Jungle'.

I pressed the middle button in the panel right next to it, only for it swoosh open as the next team was called.

"Kara's." I whispered as I walked into the room, feeling a sense of dread.

The second table did not have a sack.

"Damn it." Conner breathed as he walked next to me, and I could already feel the anger in him starting to rise.

That's actually a good thing. At first the room was huge, almost as big as the Hall and Gym combined, and was completely metal. But after everyone from the Team walked into it, it slowly turned into the Landscape where you're supposed to be inside, and I watched the metallic walls slowly turn into a huge and almost too good to be true jungle.

"This sucks." I heard Artemis breath behind me as Jungle sounds started filling our hearing, from monkeys to birds to large cats.

I turned around to my team, to find that there were no more traces of the metallic room we once stood inside, but instead a huge jungle which would be near impossible to over come.

"Okay, anyone here been in a Jungle before?" I asked them, looking from face to face.

Roy nodded, his game face in place. "Good. What do we do first?" I asked him, looking around to my surroundings to see if a plan popped into my head. Nothing did.

"Well, what we did at first was find high ground and build a hut. If we're going to be here only a day, we're okay with our rations, but if it's more than one day, we have to be extremely careful."

There was a particularly loud growl from somewhere in the Simulation, which made Raquel and Zatanna jump into each other's arms. "What was that?!" Zatanna asked, eyes wide in fear.

Richard sighed at her stupidity, and said, "That was most probably a Puma. Never read a book?"

Both Magiks glared at the child, but I quickly cut them off. "You know, throwing insults would normally be fun if we weren't stuck in a jungle with robots that would _kill_ us." I told them, scolding them both, then turned to Roy again. "So, off to higher ground?"

Roy nodded, hoisted his bag up higher on his shoulder, and said, "Let's go."

And our adventure began.

**This is a form of training for the Games in my universe. Yes, I was inspired by Divergent, but no, it doesn't have to do much with it. **

**Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am going to be making this story a slash story, and if you don't like it, you can do as my favorite tag team says... "SUCK IT!" I haven't decided which would be the couples, but I ain't gonna write about any other het couple except for Conner and M'gann. But the slash will not be very defined.**

**Enjoy~**

"I told you to not cut the fucking chord!" Roy yelled at me and Conner as we ran for our lives through the jungle, having to swat away large plants and limbs from trees.

With me being the speedster, it was only natural for me to be at the front of us, taking the brunt of this atmosphere. "That wasn't me, you idiot!" I yelled back at him, jumping over a particularly big root.

"I know it wasn't you, but I can't yell at the idiot who did cut the chord because he's most probably dead!" He yelled back, starting to irritate me.

"Yep. Richard's most probably dead, and you're yelling at Wally for that idiot's mistake." Conner growled, making me smirk.

Sadly, our little conversation was interrupted by loud and frightening growling and a type of howling. "My Gods... Why did the idiot do that?" I heard Roy ask himself.

I can't blame him. Right now I was just ready to wring the kid's neck, but he was most probably dead by now, so I really can't do that.

"What should we do?" I yelled over the incessant barking, managing to duck under a pretty sturdy branch.

Roy managed to duck also, but Conner just ended up running through it, much like any other Krypto I would know. "We could stand and fight, or we can keep running and hope that something from above save us." Roy answered.

I sighed, hung my head low, and, still running, jumped to the side and towards where the barking us, taking out my sword as I did this. "To the fight it is!" I heard Roy yell after me, making me smirk.

Sadly, my smirk quickly vanished as I saw what I was running straight at. The freaking dogs didn't seem like real dogs at all, which was what you'd normally see in this place. No, they were a complete robotic exoskeleton, with bright and menacing red eyes, sharp spikes as teeth, and a tail that ended with razor blades. Their paws were basically knives, and I'm sure they had secret compartments and parts that allow some pretty dangerous things to be stored inside.

"By the Lords of Speed... Why us?" I asked, feeling a sense of dread as I ran straight at the one in the middle, tackling it to the ground as Roy and Conner took on the others.

I quickly cut off the paws and tail, making oil start spilling out like crazy, but the damn robot was just that, a robot that felt no pain, and managed to sink its metallic teeth right into my shoulder. Yelling out in pain, I quickly maneuvered to throw it off of me, and it ended facing at me from the ground. It may not have legs nor a tail, but it really meant business.

"Pierce the eyes!" I heard Roy yell, and I turned around for a brief second, seeing him fighting one robot dog, another with an arrow right in its' socket fallen close to his feet.

Sadly, that split second I looked away, my dog pounced on me, which really was something because it wasn't supposed to have any legs! Its teeth sank down on my left arm this time, making me yell out in pain once more, but then my mind got ahold of me. Left arm, dog biting it, right arm, dog not biting it. Quickly I pushed aside the pain; much like we've all been taught to do if you're going to be in the Games; and plunged my blade straight into its right eye.

Quickly he released my arm, made a kind of whirring noise, and fell, all of the fight disappearing from it. I blinked down at it, ignoring the blood that was now dripping down my left arm because of both wounds, shocked at what had just happened. My brain was on overdrive at the moment, trying to figure out why I was bleeding so _much_. Usually, the Jungle is the hardest of all environments we have to overcome, but not once have I heard of killer robots dogs with razors in every parts of their body.

"Snap out of it, Wally! Go help you Conner!" I heard Roy yell at me, which made me turn around to see the Krypto struggling with four dogs attacking him at the same time, cutting him and biting him.

"For the Speed!" I yelled out, raising my sword in the air while running towards the dog farthest from him.

Quickly I stabbed that one's eye, then tackled one whose tail was way too close to Conner's heart for my comfort. I wrestled around on the floor with it, the damn thing snapping and biting at me, scratching me with its claws. Already I was bleeding too much for any normal person to survive, so I ended this fight quickly, plunging my sword into its eye socket, then pushed the body off of me and remained lying down for a while.

"Wally, you okay?" Conner asked as I stared up into the never ending roof of trees that is this jungle, most probably worried about me.

I didn't say a word. Last time I asked someone about this environment, they told me we would most probably face pretty big cats, some monkeys, birds, and insects, but not once did they tell me that I would have to fight for my life against dogs that wanted to kill me. I mean, it was no secret that kids died every time they trained in any kind of simulation; some were too stupid or clumsy or just not good enough; but not once had I heard of the Lords ordering you on technically... a...

"Wally?" Roy asked, crouching next to me.

Quickly I sat up, making Roy fall back in shock. "We weren't supposed to live." I announced, my eyes wide in shock and fear.

There was silence from both of them, which made me turn to them, fear clear in my eyes. "This was a suicide mission, guys... We weren't supposed to live."

* * *

"I can't believe you guys abandoned us like that." Artemis whined as soon as we were left alone in the infirmary, all of us sporting different wounds.

Apparently, Raquel, Zatanna, Richard, M'gann, and Artemis all survived after our split up, none of them even getting as close to death as I had. My arm was now completely bandaged up thanks to a nice nurse with an even nicer smile, and my knees wrapped up because of an injury that I didn't even remember to have.

"I can't believe Richard did the exact thing I told him not to do." I growled back at her, glaring heatedly at the dumb blonde.

I'm the one that has to stay over night in the infirmary, and she's whining about a few cuts and scrapes? May her own Gods save her, 'cause I'm not even praying for her.

"I thought it was a good idea." The kid growled back at me, nursing a headache from having fallen onto his head.

"Shut it, Richard." I snapped at him, my mood getting worse and worse by each second I had to spend with them. They be my team for the rest of the training, but that doesn't mean I have to be nice to them. "If you had just let the chord rest, leave it where it was, none of us would need to be here."

He rolled his eyes at me, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed. Actually, I had to admit, it was kind of funny that he wasn't able to touch the floor. "I thought it was holding food. You know the Gov leaves resources like that all around the place."

Before I answered this time, Roy cut in, allowing me to lean back into the comfortable bed as he scolded the youngest member of the team. "Richard, I told you to not touch it. I explained why, there is such a thing as traps in the Jungle simulation, and I already knew the difference in cables. You really should start listening to your elders, kid. Did you not know you may end up dead if not?"

It seems that Richard was about to retaliate in some manner, but right then in came a nurse, followed by Lord Ollie and Jason. All was silent as Lord Ollie looked at ever single one of us, his eyes lingering on me and Roy for the longest.

"I am sorry to hear about the problem with the simulation." He finally spoke, his blue eyes showing nothing but sadness.

Sadly, I don't know if I can trust him.

"Jason here," He said, motioning to the supposed teammate. "Is supposed to be in control of the simulations, but it seems someone managed to tamper with the Jungle simulation, which allowed those Hell Hounds to get you."

I narrowed my eyes at him, and asked, "Is that the name you give the damn contraption? Hell Hounds? I thought only names were given to the real significant things, not to the Help, much like this nurse." I jutted my chin at the nameless woman, who was looking down at the floor like a proper helper.

It seems that he took it as an insult, but before he could say anything, Jason answered. "Exactly, Wallace. Hell Hounds are dangerous creations made by none other than Lex Luthor. They're supposed to be locked up in the lowest level of this building, to never be used again."

Not once did I look at him as he spoke, just kept my glare on Lord Ollie. "Is that so? They're not supposed to ever be used again, huh? Then why the Hell do you keep them?"

"Wally." Roy barked at me, telling me this was enough.

I knew better than to challenge him, so I kept quiet, still glaring at Lord Ollie. His jaw was tight and face showed no more emotion, just like I knew would happen. "Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience. Please, do not hesitate to speak to me in a private environment." And with that he left the room, along with the nurse, but Jason stayed.

"What the hell was that, Fleet Feet?" Artemis growled at me, making me roll my eyes. "That's a Lord you were talking to! You could get us kill-"

"Artemis." This time it was Conner who cut in, making her look at him. "We have bad news."

**Yep, slash from now on. Please check out the poll in my profile, and review. Please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

The mood of our whole group had changed after Conner, Roy, and I had explained what was going on, and we were a bit more tolerant for each other. Artemis and Richard didn't want to believe us, and were most probably trying to figure out other reasons why those Hell Hounds attacked us, but they at least were a bit nicer.

I was released from the infirmary after two days, my arm and knee still bandaged and my mobility limited. Luckily, the day I returned was a Free Day, which meant different groups were taken to the Museum, to relive our 'rich' history. Normally I would have loved this whole thing, but I couldn't help but wonder... wonder why this is happening.

Why would our Lords want us to get killed? Why would they send us on a suicide mission?

"Wally?" I was taken out of my thoughts by Conner pushing me, my face pressing slightly against the train's window.

"Hmm?" I hummed, still trying to look out the blacked out windows. "Conner, do you ever wonder what's out there?"

He leaned forward to look through it, then sighed, shaking his head. "Wally," He leaned into me, whispering so we weren't overheard by our guide. "For some reason or the other we'll already in trouble, stop being such a liberalist or we're going to be in worse trouble."

I nodded, but still looked out the window, still wondering if what the Lords' told us was true. Is there nothing out there, or is there life? A new life that nobody wanted us to know about because it was better?

Apparently I slipped into my reveries once more because next time, it was Roy who spoke to me. "Come on, Wallace. We're already here."

I looked forward to see the rest of the teens walking out, the guide that had taken us to our room looking at the three of us with a contemplating look. I smirked at her, knowing that she was most probably getting information for the Lords, and got up.

"Let's get going, my friends." I told them, my voice sounding different to me.

Apparently they heard the difference, seeing how they looked at each other with doubt. We walked out of the Train, our guide following close by, much like any sensible adult would do with a group of teenagers.

"Okay!" She exclaimed loudly, grasping the attention of everyone there. "Seeing how this is the first time here for most of you, I'll lay out some rules."

All of the Imperatorii's here rolled their eyes and looked around, but that was to be expected, seeing how they could come here whenever they wanted. There was a specific museum in each Home, but this one was the biggest by far. It had everything, from our history to Science and even Religion. Sadly, we've never been taken here before, and no person from different Homes get to visit the museum unless allowed by all the Lords.

And seeing how not all of the Lords like me, I've never been able to even _see_ the building. Now that I do, it's like a giant museum North America used to have, I think it was called the Smithsonian, but I don't remember. It had fossils of dinosaurs in the front on pedestals, with model airplanes hanging from the top of the ceiling.

"First thing's first, no eating, drinking, touching, or even getting close to any of the exhibits. Don't get close to the exhibits with people on them, especially because the Officials don't like snot nosed brats getting too close." The guide told us, her multi colored hair bouncing back and forth as she moved her head to look at all of us.

We were a group of about six teams, which meant forty eight or a bit more teenagers. "Don't get smart with any of the things that talk back to you because I don't want to have to grab you from Museum jail. Act like you would act in front of the Lords and we won't have any problems."

I only crossed my arms and smirked as some of the Arrows whooped in agreement, but slyly watched my team from my peripheral vision. Artemis was staying close to Roy, scowl on both of their faces, while Richard was staring absent mindedly at nothing. M'gann was standing up straight with her shoulders back, listening to our guide, while Raquel and Zatanna quietly played a game of Rock, Paper, Scissor. Conner was standing next to me, his face not showing any emotion. And Jason... Well, seeing how Jason was controlling the environments, he had stayed back to help the Lords.

"You know what? I'm tired of being called Guide Person!" Our guide suddenly exclaimed after James called her that. "My name's Cassandra, Cassie to my friends, and I swear if someone else calls me guide, they'll end up in a very hurtful position."

I looked at her, amused by her anger, but frowned when a dark skinned and bald man walked to us. He was wearing the Arrow's color of green, with a black trench coat. If I'm guessing correctly, a Museum Official. "Cassandra, if I may," He said, bowing to her, then turning to us. "My name is Jonathan Stewart and I will be your tour guide today. I do not take any nonsense, and if you even try to prank me, you _will_ be hurt."

Nobody spoke after this, but only followed him as he walked inside with Cassie next to him. There were openings to different exhibits in the main hall, but he led us straight to the last one, which seemed to be the biggest opening.

"Today Lord Ollie asked me to show this group some of our world's history and how we came to be like this." He said, never looking back as he walked inside, the rest of us following behind.

I looked behind me as I entered, only to find the opening close and for us to be engulfed by darkness. Of course, no one screamed, seeing how this was completely normal in our Museums, then we saw everything. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.

Maps of our old world, pictures, newspaper paragraphs, life sized people cut-outs, standees that explained everything, models of different kind of vehicles and more was what littered this area of the Museum, which actually amazed me. The Imperatorii sure had it good with this.

"We were once a nation called the United States of America in a continent called North America, which was the acme of the new world at one point. We were advanced in everything from Sciences to the Arts, Education to Technology. Sadly, there was a war, called the Third World War, which caused the mass destruction of most of our world." He told us, walking us in a circle around the exhibit.

"It took more than a hundred years for the survivors to get out of their underground bunkers, and even more to reclaim their own lands. Some of the pioneers created the Magiks, others the Imperatorii, and two siblings created the Speed and Kryptos. At first it was difficult, with internal war and the wars with the Mutants, but somehow they managed, and now we are this great nation." He gave us a recap of our history, which is something everyone knew.

"But I'm not here to talk about that, but of the rebels that have come and gone since we were reformed." For some reason I thought he looked at me when he said this, which only made me smirk. I never had learned about the dark parts of our history.

Now we were in front of cut outs of six men and what seemed like to teenage boys. They were dressed differently, one resembled a type of steam punk knight in gold, another in a ripped up trench coat with cowboy like clothing, another in a crimson trench coat with a hat and red mask, and more. One of the boys seemed to have squinted eyes and was smiling wildly while the other was being held by the shoulders by a red headed man in a red, white, and blue suit.

"These were the Seven Soldiers of Victory, or how we like to call them, the biggest threats to society since World War Three." John said, slightly frowning at the group.

Behind the men there was a setting of a kind of deserted world, which lead me to wonder what it was.

"These nine men thought that our government was wrong and decided it was about time that someone spoke up. They used code names while they kidnapped different government officials, and seeing how they all wore masks, we were never able to find out their true identities."

Now this was unusual. The Lords knew the names and identities of everyone, no matter what. No one was safe, not even the rebels with the best technology available.

"How is that possible? Didn't you get them?" James asked, clutching Kara's arm tightly.

I smirked at him, knowing that these sort of things always got him happy, then waited for John's answer. "Yes, we did... You were too young, now that I think about it. It happened before any of you were able to go to the Games..." He sighed, looking down and rubbing his eyes, as if remembering something horrible.

"The Games of that year were being held in the Speed Home, and these men chose to blow up the Main Building, with them inside. It was a suicide mission, but they got what they wanted. They managed to kill the Lords of that time, one who was Lex Luthor."

My eyes widened at this information, actually shocked to hear it, and he continued. "Seeing how it was an explosion with so much intensity, their bodies were never recovered. Now, how about we see another exhibit?" That question wasn't one we had to answer, seeing how he started to move to another exhibit.

As I followed the group, I couldn't help but think back to that year. I had to have been about seven or eight years old when we sensed the explosion, which had taken the life of my grand-uncle, Jay Allen. I swear that night I heard weird rustling noise and I sensed some kind of person in my room. I had written it off to paranoia, seeing how I had lost someone important in my life, but now I wasn't sure.

"What are you thinking about, Walls?" Roy whispered as we passed another rebel, this one catching my attention.

He was dark skinned, with tattoos on his arms and a weird symbol on his belt. He wore a red shirt with black pants and no shoes, but it was his eyes that drew me in. They were gray and so wise... Much wiser than they should have been. How could that be represented in a sheer cut out?

"Who's that?" I asked Roy, whispering it as John started talking about a group called the Titans.

He looked from me to the man, looked around him, then found the name. "Aqualad. The leader of the Resistance, and like those rebels, no one knows his real identity... Apparently he was the one that helped the Soldier to do what they did."

My eyes were wide in realization, suddenly remembering where I had seen those eyes before. "I know him." I whispered, then grasped Roy's shirt tightly. "He... He was in my room..."

Roy looked at me in shock, but no one else noticed what was going on because we were in the far back. "The reason those men aren't identified... It's because they're not dead."

**Sorry about not updating sooner, but life hasn't been easy. I hope you liked it, and this _is_ the direction I want to take this story. Giving it my own flare!**

**Please review.**


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